Construction registered another monthly employment gain: the sector’s 11thth consecutive monthly gain: It added 23,000 jobs in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
The BLS said in its latest U.S. jobs report, released March 8, that the heavy construction and civil engineering sector showed the strongest performance, with an increase of 12,500 positions.
Two segments of construction recorded a decline in employment, and both were relatively modest. Residential specialty trade contractors shed 1,000 jobs and residential construction firms shed 200.
Architectural, engineering and related services, a BLS category separate from construction, saw employment increase by 6,400 in February.
The construction unemployment rate rose to 7% in February from 6.9% in January. It also increased from the previous year’s level of 6.6%.
BLS unemployment rates are adjusted for seasonal changes; their job totals are seasonally adjusted.
More broadly, the BLS reported that overall the US added 275,000 jobs and its unemployment rate rose to 3.9% in February from 3.7% in January.
Anirban Basu, chief economist at Associated Builders and Contractors, said in a statement: “In February, we saw evidence that contractors are continuing to add workers, meeting expectations.”
Basu said gains in various non-residential segments were “quite notable given headwinds such as high project finance costs, high construction service delivery costs and lingering recession fears.”
Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Associated General Contractors of America, said in a statement: “Non-residential contractors increased their hiring in February.”
But Simonson added that separate BLS data released in recent days on construction job openings and construction spending “suggest that hiring would be even more robust if construction firms could find enough skilled workers.”
AGC also noted that average hourly earnings in February for non-supervisory production and construction employees rose 4.9% year-over-year to $35.21 an hour. The sector’s earnings were 18.5% higher than the hourly earnings of all private sector production employees.
